


Snow-White Umbrella

by EsriteIatha



Series: Does The Wolf Apologize? [2]
Category: NCIS
Genre: Epic Bromance, Father-Son Relationship, Horror & Blood & Gore, I Was Serious, Other, Prepare For Horror, Supernatural Elements, Team Bonding, Team Dynamics, Team as Family
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-11
Updated: 2018-11-25
Packaged: 2019-07-29 14:48:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,716
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16266425
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EsriteIatha/pseuds/EsriteIatha
Summary: There is a Shifter with partial amnesia. There is a very confused Vampire. There is a mostly annoyed Zombie. There is a Witch, who fears for the worst. There is also an Owl Spirit and his Gremlin, the two solid rocks in the storming sea.  There is also a Human who does his best to keep everybody sane and the team together.There is a Killer on the road.





	1. Flesh And Bone

**Author's Note:**

> Here it comes! The second story arc from my Does The Wolf Apologize series. It's a short one, but you have to start somewhere, right? I hope you enjoy it! 
> 
> I listened to the song, Flash and Bone while writing it. It'll be the "soundtrack" of this story. 
> 
> About the very important question from the other story's end please read the note at the end!

**_Flesh and Bone  
_ ** **_Black Math_ **

_Buried banging at your door_  
_Don’t hear a sound_  
_Don’t know me anymore_  
_A bell that tolled to comfort me_  
_An empty street_  
_A rising steam_  
_Break the truth inside of me_  
_Climbed down to hell on the devil’s tree_  
_I clutched a branch of soot and flame  
_ _The thought that rose, to scorch my feet_

_I walk alone_  
_Beside myself_  
_Nowhere to go_  
_Ahh, this bleeding heart  
_ _That’s in my hands I fell apart_

_I walk alone_  
_Beside myself_  
_Nowhere to go_  
_My_  
_Flesh and bone_  
_This part of me  
_ _The seeds I’ve sewn_

Coffee droplets escaped from her travel mug as she parked her car behind the police's patrol car, which still had its blue light on. It created an eery scene in front of one of the most famous law firms in the city. Despite the early hours, there were few people standing around the cordons watching the happenings with glinting eyes. 

 

She glanced at her watch. 

 

"Come on, people! It's four o'clock!" she muttered as she stepped out of her car. A man in a uniform approached her. 

 

"Detective Cherry! Please follow me!" 

 

He immediately turned around and led her up the stairs. She stepped into the elevator after him and leaned against the wall. She sighed into her travel mug, then when she felt ready enough, she asked the question. 

 

"What happened?"

 

"The victim's name is Maia Rabino, she worked here. The cleaning lady found her at half past three on the third floor. She didn't see anyone else."

 

"Security cameras?" Cherry asked after a long sip of coffee. The elevator came to a stop with a sudden jerk. She nearly ruined her outfit with the precious liquid. 

 

"My people are on it already." the man whose name she had forgotten to ask answered. 

 

"Thanks," she sighed. After that, she didn't need a guide. The mass of people in uniforms was swarming the place. For once the ME got there before her and was already leaning over the tiny woman lying in her own blood. Once, she had been a pretty thing, Cherry thought bitterly. Now, horror distorted her features and lower... 

 

"What happened to her?" Cherry asked horror now evident in her voice too. 

 

The ME glanced up at her from behind his glasses. Morbid humor was showing in the curl of his lips and the glinting of the dark eyes. 

 

"It looks like Exorcist III right now." 

 

Cherry stared blankly back at him.

 

"What?"

 

"She has been cut up in the middle, her organs ripped out." he waved with his hands towards the gruesome scene to their right that would give her nightmares for the rest of her miserable life. "She was sewn back over." he gently pressed down on the corpse's stomach with his gloved hands. "She is stuffed with something. I'll need to X-ray her." 

 

"I'm gonna throw up," Cherry muttered. She turned away from the man and the miserable scene. On one of the desks that had been masterfully placed around the big room was covered by bagged objects. One of the bags was protecting a bloody mobile phone. 

 

"Is it hers?" she asked. 

 

"We guess so." someone answered. 

 

"Let's find out who she called last." 

 

***

 

Kate sipped her tea in the dim kitchen. The sun was probably climbing upwards, but the sky was still covered by heavy clouds, so, it was still very dark outside.

 

"Hey!" 

 

She glanced to the side at the hesitant greeting. Tony was standing at the door of the kitchen, dressed in faded jeans and an old shirt that she managed to salvage from the ruins of his apartment. He was finally looking like a thirty-something years old, not the too young version of himself. Otherwise, he was a mess.

 

"Hey yourself." She spoke equally quietly. "There is a fresh pot of coffee too," she added. 

 

He nodded his thanks and approached the counter. Tristan's last advice before his departure had been to be patient and tolerant with Tony. Kate didn't like that. She preferred to be honest. Normality would be better in her point of view, but it was not her who was giving out the orders. Still... this was awfully awkward. 

 

"Do everyone live here now?" Tony asked a few minutes later. He turned around, rested his hip against the counter. Intense eyes were regarding her with guarded curiosity. Kate stirred her tea lazily.

 

"It's safer that way." 

 

"Safety in numbers, ha?"

 

She looked into his eyes and saw her own thoughts mirrored in them. Last night, that wave that washed over them. Something alien had happened or was happening. An abomination.

 

He hummed quietly, then seemingly turned all his attention back to his coffee. She mirrored him, but it was not her tea that captured her dreamy attention, but the darkness outside. 

 

"Someone should really look into all that snow." she mused. 

 

"Our case," Tony spoke, ignoring her previous comment. She blinked at him. 

 

"The case?" 

 

"Yes. What is it about?" She blinked again. She searched for his tells. There were some when he was playing jokes. Like everyone else, he too had them, his eyes, the way he blinked, tiny curves of the corner of his mouth. However, this time he looked completely serious. 

 

"You seriously don't remember?" she asked.

 

She expected him to look annoyed or even angry, but he just shrugged.

 

"I couldn't even remember you till you spoke." 

 

"So, my voice annoyed your memories back to place." she scowled. 

 

A ghost of a smile appeared on his face. Her real goal. 

 

"That's one way of saying it."

 

"So," she took a breath, "the case." 

 

***

 

Detective Andrea Cherry rubbed her eyes as she leaned over the case photos. Three hours of sleep. That's all she had had last time. Her eyes were so dry that they felt like sandpaper. Or sand bubbles. Man... she was going crazy. 

 

She glanced down at the photo in front of her. Maia Rabino's body lay in the middle of the firm's common area. Her vital organs were scattered around her. Wait, Andrea cocked her head to the side. Not just scattered around. There was a pattern. She just didn't know this one. She quickly noted it down onto her to look up list. 

 

The ME had done an x-ray of the body, just like how he had promised he would. The place where the organs should have been had been filled up with flowers. After the dissection, it turned out that they were red dahlias.

 

"That's sick." Andrea breathed. 

 

"Detective Cherry!" 

 

She glanced up. Her partner, a junior detective was hurrying towards her between the cheap desks of the other detectives. 

 

"What is it, Benjamin?" she asked tiredly. 

 

"We got the number," Benjamin told her excitedly.

 

"Number?" Andrea mouthed the word, while she just stared blankly. She really needed another coffee. 

 

"From Ms. Rabino's phone! She has even left a message! Hurry!"

 

Oh, Andrea pushed her chair back. Maybe that would lead them somewhere. 

 

***

 

Tom Morrow closed his office's door behind himself with a sigh. Tristan had left and he was sure that he wouldn't see him for a very long time. Maybe it was for the best. Tristan was with Ellis, the human turned shiftling. Ellis was good and kind. It was better this way. 

 

Morrow stepped behind his desk, then sank into his comfortable chair. He stared at the huge pile of paperwork in front of him. NCIS and Elder tasks... 

 

"I need a vacation." the ancient vampire huffed. 

 

He grabbed his phone and dialed the first number on his to-do list. 

 

"Gibbs." came the gruff voice. 

 

"Morrow. Tonight we'll have a council meeting. State of emergency. Be there!" He didn't have to clarify. Gibbs knew that it was vampire business instinctively. There was another gruff noise, then the line went dead. 

 

Morrow dialed the second number, but it went almost immediately to voicemail. 

 

"Good morning, Victoria! Tonight we have a council meeting. Please call me back, when you get this message." 

 

He ended the call with a tingling vampire sense.

 

***

 

 

Tim shuffled into the kitchen. He was still rubbing his bleary eyes when he noticed the other occupant. Tony was sitting on top of the counter, with one leg folded, one hanging. He had a manila folder in his lap and he held two papers in each hand. His eyes were moving rapidly as he read the lines. 

 

"Ducky will have your head if he sees you like that." Tim blurted out.

 

Tony snorted, but otherwise, he didn't acknowledge his presence. Tim had two problems. One, he needed coffee to escape that morning haze he was still in thanks to the long and gut-churning night. Two, he was still wary of his SFA's unpredictable reactions. Why were this two things called problem? Because Tony was sitting right in front of the coffeemaker. 

 

"Erm..." Tim concluded smartly.

 

However, the next moment didn't solve his problems but worsened them. The manila folder went flying, white, black and gray papers scattered around the kitchen. Tony glared at the mess he had created with more venom than what the junior agent had ever seen on the SFA's face. 

 

"Wha..." Tim started after weighing his chances, but he didn't get far in his question, because Tony cut him off. 

 

"I can't remember!" he actually growled. 

 

"At all?" Tim asked with alarm. He had thought that they were over the amnesia part. 

 

Tony flashed his green eyes at him. Tim's alarm skyrocketed, when he noticed the flashing gold and red (mostly the red) in his eyes. 

 

"The case! The smell! The lead!" Tony jumped off the counter and started pacing. At least Tim could get to the coffeemaker now. He inched towards it, but he kept his eyes on the distressed shifter. 

 

"We had a lead?" 

 

"No! I had a lead! I smelled the killer!" 

 

Tim's hands stilled at the last sentence. "You mean you know who the killer is? You could detect him by ... smelling him?" 

 

Tony stopped and stared at him. 

 

"Stop looking at me like that!" the shifter huffed. 

 

"Like what?" Tim blinked. 

 

"Like I'm some kind of weirdo." Tony waved with his hand towards Tim "A shifter's sharpest sense is the sense of smell!"

 

Tim laughed at the grimace on the sulking shifter's face. "Believe me, I'm already over the weirding out part."

 

Tony snorted at that, said something that sounded like you don't even have the slightest idea and started pacing again. 

 

"Not that it matters. I can't remember the smell. It's in one of the black holes." Tony said after a while 

 

Tim had already turned his back on the man and busied himself with his coffee. 

 

"Black holes? What black holes?" he asked absentmindedly. However, Tony didn't answer. When Tim had to repeat his question for the third time and there was still no answer, the human turned around. 

 

"Tony?" 

 

The shifter stood next to the dining table and he was staring at the TV. Someone had turned it on and it had been on mute even before Tim had arrived into the kitchen. The news was on and a woman's picture was displayed. The headline went as a young lawyer has been brutally murdered at her workplace during the night. Tim glanced at Tony. The news was awful, but not something they didn't see before. However, the pale features of the shifter told another story. The red in the green orbs told an even more distressing one. 

 

"Where is my phone, McGee?" Tony asked with a gravelly voice. 

 

"Your phone?" 

 

"Yes! My cell phone! Where is it?" Tony was almost shouting. 

 

"In the living room. I don't think it has been charged..." Tim trailed off. Tony was already gone, shifter speed working to his favor. Tim was left behind with confusion and dread growing in his stomach.

 

Again...

 

***

 

Manuel Tillman hummed to himself as he cleaned the metal table in front of him. He had been an ME for the last twenty years, but he never had such an interesting case before. Don't get him wrong, he did feel sorry for the young woman, but he is an ME. This is his job. Everybody likes it when their job is interesting. You don't get more interesting than a murder taken from an Exorcist movie! It would be a great case report for the next conference!

 

He threw the bloody paper towel into the bin with the yellow garbage bag, then he wheeled cleaning trolley into the conjoined room. 

 

He never saw the small metal door with the number 5 opening behind him. 

 

To Be Continued.  


	2. The Ultimate High As All Beautiful Dies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The mystery surrounding Maia's death deepens.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! Sorry again. This time though, there is a proper reason behind my tardiness. 
> 
> My dog died. He was a beautiful, intelligent, white, wolf-like creature. After that, it was really hard to write about a white, wolf-like creature... 
> 
> But still, this is here! Not the best, but sadly, every story has to have a slow part.
> 
> Comments help a lot! 
> 
> Bye!

**_10th Man Down_ **

**_Nightwish_ **

_The ultimate high as all beautiful dies_  
 _A ruler's tool, priest's excuse, tyrant's delight..._  
 _I alone, the great white hunter_  
 _I'll march till the dawn brings me rest_  
 _10th patriot at the_ gallow's _pole!"_

_Cut me free ..._

 

Gibbs stared at the stack of papers in front of him. Paperwork that was vital for their situation, but one he hated to do. Tony's disappearance needed an official, a human explanation. It was tricky business as Abby had said before she had started her work on her computer. The revival one of Tony's enemies or Gibbs' would have given them a better background, but they lacked a proper fall guy, which made the future of the case even more complicated. So, they had to come up with it from scratch. The only fall guy they could use was in a catatonic state in Ducky's basement. That complicated things even further. 

 

The only luck they had was that the Fourth Elder was in a perfect position to help them out in the legal world.

 

Still, Abby had the impossible to accomplish which she was already doing and he was left with paperwork. Lot's of paperwork. 

 

Then she stormed into the bullpen.

 

Her arrival was like a hurricane. Her high-heeled boots carried her towards him with loud clack-clacks. Her shoulder length, blond hair was a wavy mess and she wore more mascara under her eyes than her lashes. Her features screamed "Fight me!" and he prepared himself just for that. It was an instinct. Usually, he considered humans as children in grown-ups' bodies. However, since the events of the last few days, he had become more sensitive to threats from the outside. And that was what she appeared at first. A threat from the outside.

 

She was trying hard to control the storm on her face. Light reflected from her visitor badge as she introduced herself. "I'm Detective Andrea Cherry." 

 

The name was familiar. The answer came as he rose to shake her hand. 

 

_"One of my buddies from the local police has called. They have found Larsen."_

 

And next to that, somewhere in the documents, there were the reports from the local police with the head detective's name.

 

"You are DiNozzo's friend from the local police," he stated.

 

That yanked her out of her planned speech. She blinked a few times. She was out of balance, just how he wanted her to be. 

 

"Can I help you?"

 

"I want to speak with Agent DiNozzo," she spoke, seemingly in balance again.

 

"He is on sick leave," he spoke carefully watching her reactions, her parlor, her heartbeat.

 

She paled under her makeup, he heartbeats quickened. "What happened?" she asked. "The flu?"

 

"Undercover job went wrong." that was the official version. It explained enough.

 

"When did it happen?" she asked. There was a nervous excitement in her voice. It didn't sit well with him.

 

"A few days ago. Why?" 

 

"Where was he yesterday?" 

 

"At a ... safe house." he frowned and he felt the need to add, "I was with him. Is DiNozzo in trouble?" 

 

At that, she looked relieved. She reached to the side and pulled out a random chair from behind a desk. She all but fell into it with a chocked laugh.

 

"No, he is not..." she breathed. "But still... I need to talk to him. 

 

"Why?" Gibbs asked. That earned a glare from the woman. She was in her late thirties. The glare brought out her crow's feet. That and the mascara that really shouldn't be smeared under her eyes.

 

"It is really not your business." she stood. "It's personal." 

 

Her eyes were calculating as she studied his face for something. Then without another word, she strode away. This time she was less like a storm, more like someone really tired.

 

Gibbs let her. He had other means to get what he wanted. He dialed a phone number.

 

"Yes, Boss?" 

 

"McGee. Detective Andrea Cherry. Find out what case she is working on right now." 

 

"Boss?" 

 

He ended the call.  

 

***

"That man will be the death of me," she sing-songed as she slipped (okay, almost fell) behind the wheel. She wasn't even sure which man she was thinking about. Gibbs or his idiot second? 

 

"Men." she nodded. "Both of them!"

 

Then, her phone started ringing. She glanced at the number, then she pushed the call button so fast that she almost dropped the device. 

 

"You son of a bitch!" she hissed angrily. 

 

"Hey, Cherry." the voice was the same, but the tone... it pulled her out of her outrage. These two men kept pushing her around. In and out of balance. They kept doing that. 

 

"What's going on, Tony?" she asked. 

 

"Is Maia really dead?" he sounded kinda small. She didn't like it. It proved that something was wrong wrong wrong...

 

"I'm afraid yes. I'm sorry." she listened to the silence for a few moments. 

 

Then... "Can I help? I wanna help." 

 

She shook her head despite the fact that he couldn't see her. 

 

"You can't help. I'm sorry." 

 

"I'm a federal agent!" he offered. Almost childishly. 

 

"Exactly!" she pressed. "This is not a federal investigation!" 

 

"I'm on sick leave?" 

 

Andrea groaned and leaned her head against the wheel. "Okay, listen. Come to the Yard. I have to take your statement officially anyway. We do that, then we talk unofficially, okay?" 

 

"I want to see her," he spoke again.

 

"We'll talk about it." she offered. 

 

"I'll be there." Then he ended the call. Without thanking her. 

 

"If not my death, but my job surely..." she groaned. She threw her phone onto the passenger seat. 

 

And it started ringing again!

 

She reached for it with another groan. 

 

"What is it, Benjamin?"

 

***

Tim blinked at the building in front of him. There was a sign that said, Metropolitan Police Department. How did he get there? 

 

Well, he had barely opened his laptop to do what Gibbs had asked of him when Tony had strode past him. He barely had time to grab his coat and jump into the SUV next to the shifter. 

 

And Tony had dared to growl at him! Unbelievable!

 

"So, what are we doing here?" Tim asked finally.

 

"You? I don't know. Me? I'm going in." with that Tony jumped out of the car and strode into the building. 

 

"Keep an eye on DiNozzo, he says. It's not that hard, he says!" Tim huffed to himself as he followed after the temperamental shifter. Seriously! Tristan hadn't been joking with that hormonal thingy... 

 

It was clear that Tony knew some of the officers there. They found themselves surrounded by detectives in no time. There was a young man, Benjamin Rochette who escorted them to a desk that supposedly belonged to Andrea Cherry. The young detective was like an overeager puppy. He offered them coffee, wanted to give them cupcakes, and talked and talked and talked. Tim felt tired just by listening to him.  Had he been like that when he started to work at the MCRT? He really hoped he hadn't been. This was annoying!

 

After a while, Tony took a deep breath in through his nose, then stiffened.

 

"You look horrible." the shifter spoke. A cheeky grin appeared on his face. One that Tim hadn't seen since that whole surreal series of events had started. 

 

A woman was walking towards them with a scowl on her features. 

 

"You are the one to talk! Have you looked into a mirror-like... ever?" 

 

Tim looked from one of them to the other. Personally, he thought that they both looked like hell, but he kept that opinion to himself.

 

Detective Cherry cocked her head to the side and studied Tony. 

 

"What happened to you?" 

 

The phone on her desk started ringing, but she ignored it. With a long-suffering sigh, Detective Rochette reached for it.

 

Tim glanced at Tony with a sinking feeling. The official version of the shifter's disappearance was in the making, but Tony hadn't got the script yet. If he says something that doesn't match with their story...

 

But Tony was a good undercover agent and he proved it this time in front of Tim too. His whole face changed. His complex became even paler, the light in his eyes dimmed and he looked so so tired. 

 

"I don't want to talk about it." 

 

And that was it. Cherry accepted it. Tim stayed quiet.

 

"I want to see her." 

 

Cherry opened her mouth to say something, but Rochette cut her off. 

 

"We got a body." 

 

Cherry looked back and forth between the three of them. Then she rubbed her face tiredly.

 

"I have to go," she said finally.

 

The agents waited till the detectives got out of sight, then Tim had to ask. 

"What now?" 

 

"Come with me," Tony looked around discreetly, then ducked through a side door. Tim followed him through an empty corridor, then down the stairs till they arrived at a double door. Tony raised his hand towards the handle, but he stilled his fingers before touching it. He sniffed the air. 

 

"What?" Tim blinked. 

 

"Something is wrong," Tony frowned. He looked around quickly. "No cameras." 

 

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a pair of gloves. He looked sternly at Tim. "Don't touch anything." 

 

He pushed the door open and they stepped inside cautiously. 

 

"Something wrong is an understatement," Tim hissed as they looked around. Things were thrown around, the floor was a bloody mess and the light above them was flickering time-to-time. The scene was straight out of a horror movie. Only... there was no body. Yet...

 

"We should call someone." Tim offered hesitantly. 

 

"We shouldn't even be here," Tony commented nonchalantly. He stepped to the small metal door with the number 5. It was open. He sniffed the drawer. He snapped his head back and sudden anger flared up behind his eyes. Tim watched in stunned horror as the shifter started snapping the drawers open revealing bodies of victims of crimes then shutting them back with loud bangs. 

 

"Tony!" Tim hissed. "Stop it! Someone will hear it!" 

 

"She is not here!" 

 

"Who?" Tim asked as he glanced at the door nervously. Someone would surely hear them... 

 

"Maia's not here!" 

 

Tony moved back to the first drawer and sniffed it again, which in Tim's opinion looked gross. 

 

"Something..." Tony shut his eyes tightly. "God damn it! My fucking memory!" 

 

"Tony, we have to get out of here!" Tim pressed. 

 

And they did that. Without telling anyone.

 

***

 

It was supposed to be in the middle of the day, but because of the thick clouds and the heavy snow Jim could barely see as he was putting the groceries into the back of the car. He tried to sweep off the tiny white flakes from the bags, but it just melted and everything ended up wet. Jim pulled his hands away from the droplets despite the fact that he had waterproof gloves on. He sighed with defeat.

 

"For once something could go right..." he huffed. 

 

He shut the trunk. He starred off into the distance, through the snow. He blinked as he spotted something white moving in the distance. It took a few seconds for him, but he finally understood what he was seeing. Someone in a white dress and a white umbrella. 

 

"What a strange outfit for such a blizzard." he mused.

 

***

 

"Where the hell have you been?" Kate stormed out of the house as Tim parked their car. Tony had refused to drive, which was a big surprise for Tim and after their disturbing encounter in the police department, Kate's fury was even more unsettling than it should have been. 

 

Tony opened the passenger door stepped out of the vehicle. "Needed to clear my head. Why?" 

 

"Gibbs will have your head." she flashed her sharp eyes at Tim. "And yours."

 

Tim gulped at the thought of an angry Gibbs. Ever since the Horde incident, any unnecessary risk was a big no no... 

 

"Tony, get back into the house. Ducky wants to speak with you. Tim, we are visiting Victoria and Will." 

 

"Yeah? Why?" the thought of visiting the female vampire and the shiftling brightened Tim's gloomy mood instantly. 

 

"Gibbs asked us. Morrow couldn't reach them since yesterday and she is expected at Meeting. They want us to check on them." 

 

Tony stunned them both by retaking his place in the passenger seat and slamming the door after himself. 

 

"What are you doing?" Kate hissed as she leaned in through the open window on Tim's side. 

 

"Whatever I want," the shifter grinned at her. 

 

"You are not coming!" Kate pointed her slim finger at Tony. "Get out of the car!" 

 

"You seriously think that I'd let the two of you go there alone? As far as I know, this Victoria is a vampire. A vampire who needs checking on. You may be a supernatural being, but you are a zombie! And he is a human."

 

"Are you trying to suggest something?" Kate looked enraged. Tim sank lower in his seat. He was in the crossfire. Damn it! 

 

"I'm suggesting that you either get into the car or step away from the vehicle. I'm coming either way." Tony turned away from the woman and looked straight ahead. His posture suggested that he considered the argument over. 

 

"At least that way we can keep our eyes on him?" Tim offered weakly. Kate shot him an angry look, but moved the back of the car and got in. She slammed the door shut so hard that the vehicle rocked with the force of it. 

 

"Off we go..." Tim muttered under his breath and stirred the car onto the road. 

 

***

 

Ducky sighed as he finished checking their prisoner's (patient?) vitals. He was still alive, but who knows how much cognitive ability remained in that body. They could only feed him through nasogastric tubes, hydration happened through iv lines. He is not talking about the rest. The Owl Spirit glanced up at the walls, where the protective marks were glowing. Which one was keeping the vampire alive? It would be unethical to start and take them off one by one and wait for the inevitable. But what other choice does he have? 

 

"Oh, my!" he heard. He spun around to see as his mother, the oldest Owl Spirit alive descended the stairs. The frail-looking woman kept her eyes on the poor vampire laying in the middle of the room.

 

"Mother!" Ducky spoke up. "You are home!" 

 

The woman had disappeared for a few weeks. Ducky had started to fear that this time, she had finally become one with the Great Spirit. But here she was again. Just like the other times. Gone then back again. 

 

"What a loss." the woman breathed. "Alive and gone, alive and gone. The stars are holding him." she turned her eyes toward the ceiling. Those orbs had a dreamy look to them. 

 

Ducky's shoulders slumped. His mother was there, but her mind had shattered under her endless knowledge. Something he had seen happen with the woman through the last couple of hundred years.  

 

"Come, Mother, you need to rest and I have a poor lad to figure out," he spoke kindly and took the tiny hand of his mother into his. She turned her dreamy eyes at him, raised her free hand and touched his temple ever so gently.

 

"The stars are holding him," she whispered. 

 

***

 

"Detective Cherry," Benjamin breathed through his horror and shock. 

 

Andrea didn't reply. She stared at the remains that were the mutilated body of Manuel Tillman. She stared and stared. The next moment she spun around, took two long steps, then she threw up.

 

She wanted to go home and forget. Everything. 

 

To Be Continued.

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! I hoped you liked this one.   
> Aaaand the answer to the question. 
> 
> The majority asked for a father-son relationship and that was my original idea too. So, I'll stick to it.  
> However, I can't deny that I have ideas about slash side stories too, which I want to write too and probably will as stand-alone stories later.
> 
> Thank you for reading this! Tell me what you think! The tiniest feedback or thought can give me ideas or enough inspiration in the harder times to help me write. 
> 
> See you later!


End file.
